14 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE ALAMY
Itdoesnotreallymatterwhetheryou
area believerora Trumpregarding
theoldchestnutofglobalwarming;
thefactisthatit hasbeenan
extraordinary 18 monthsforweather.
Fortheup-and-cominggenerationof
moorlandgamekeeperswhohadbecome
usedtoa morethanadequatesurplusof
grouse,thosewhopractisetheirartinthe
northernPenninesreceiveda nastyshock
lastseasonwhenstockscrashedfollowing
the“BeastfromtheEast”.Thoughit may
seemharsh,it wasprobablymoreofa good
thingthanbadbecauseit clearedoutan
awfullotofbirdsthatwere, to be blunt,
notingreatshape.
Theplussideisthatthereisalmost
alwaysa bounceinthepopulationfollowing
aneventlikelastyear.Thegroundis
cleaner,a smallerhealthierstockwill,given
a fairwind,producegood-sizedbroods,
whichinturnfeedsa youngerstockinto
thesystemforthecomingseason.Dyingbumblebees
Theweatherhasbeenunusual;a very
drysummerlastyearwouldleadtofewer
insectsforthisspring.Thenotespecially
coldanddrywinterdesiccatedtheheather
andwellonintothespringit lookeddire,
withlittletonosignofgrowth.Thatwas
despiteoneofthewarmestweeksof
FebruaryI canremember.It wokeupa
wholehostofwildlife,frombutterfliesand
beestohedgehogs,andtherewasmore
orlessnothingforthemtoeat.I sawmore
bumblebeesthenthanI havesinceand
I canonlyconcludethattheydied.
Springcreakedonandstillnoheat
came,witha chillyreminderintheshape
ofmoreeastwindsofthepreviousspring.
“Notanotherone,”I heard at least one
moorlandkeepersay.
Theonethingthattriggersbirds
tobreedisnottemperature,though,but
lengthofdaylighthours.Thegrousewere
moreorlessontime.Therewereasalways
a fewearlynestsbutthebulkofthemwere
oncue.Withtheveryoddwarmday,the
weatherwasstillcoldanddryandthebirds’
mainfoodsupply,theheather,stillgrim.
Theveryhigh,wettermoorsdohavethe
added bonus of the cotton-grass fl ower,fewdayswehavehadsomeexceptional
heavyrainfall.Withtheyoungbirdsnow
ata decentsize,it isnotpossibleforthe
adultstocovermorethanfourorsoatany
onetime.I hearthattherehasbeenanodd
reductioninbroodnumbershereandthere.
Whetherthatisduetothecoldandwet,or
tobeingpickedoffbytheeverincreasing
numbersofbirdsofprey,it isdifficulttotell.
Sotheseasondrawscloser,with
anticipationrisingwiththekeepersand
theclients.It isworthrememberingthat
somedidhavea verygoodseasonlastyear,
withmanyofthelowermoorsshooting
exceptionalnumbers.Thosewhomissed
outlasttimearelookingforwardtoa better
one—butjusthowmuchbetterwillbe
downtowhatsortofa stocktheBeast
fromtheEastleftthemwith.Evenwiththe
bounce,if youwereleftwithveryfewthis
year,youwillstillbebuildingup,butsome
willbebackintoa decentsurplus.
OnoneofmyrareforaystotheriverI
cameupona deadblack-headedgull,which
hada metalringattachedtoa leg.Number
notedandsentin,I receivedthereturnthe
otherday,whichinformedmethatthebird
wassixyearsoldandhadbeenringedona
moorinYorkshire.I havenotyetfoundout
whethertheyhaveanyloyaltytotheirplace
ofbirth—manybirds,especiallywaders,
do — but if it did, it was rather off course.ofwhichthebirdswilleathugeamounts.
Thisyear,withthecoldweather,it lasted
a verylongtime.Thebouncefactorof
thatyounger,healthierstockdoescome
intoplay.Theclutchsizesseemtohave
beengoodnumbers,withtheoddone
exceptional,wellintotheteens.Despitethefactthattheimprovement
intheheatherwasa goodmonthtosix
weekslate,it wouldappearthatthehens
camethroughincubationingoodenough
conditiontotakecareoftheirnewcharges.
Duringincubation,atlonglasttherain
didcome,reducingtheriskofwildfires.
Followingsucha dryperiod,thereisa risk
thattheoddnestwillgetwashedout,but
if anydidsuccumb,theyseem to have
beenfewandfarapart.
Inthepastmonththetemperature
hasrisentowardstheseasonalnormbut
nomore;indeed,probablystilla little
under what we might expect. In the past“The dry winterdesiccated theheather andwelloninto thespringit looked dire”Despite strange weather conditions, grouse produced their broods more or less on time this yearGrousenumberscrashedlastseason— a shock,butit couldmeanthestock will bounce back, smaller in number but stronger and healthierLindsay Waddellis a former chairman of the NGO and a retired gamekeeperUpland keeper